When it’s time to hire new employees, we all want to get it right the first time. No one wants to go through the hassle of hiring a new plumber or office employee just to find out days, weeks or months later that the person isn’t a good fit. To combat this, sometimes we tend to lay it on thick during the interview.

This is understandable. Again, no one wants to go through the hassle of firing someone or having someone quit and needing to find a replacement. That said, although there might be things you’re tempted to ask a potential employee, it’s best that you don’t overstep. And in some cases, the questions are even illegal.

We’ll work through some of the questions you shouldn’t and some questions you can never ask during a job interview. We’ll also include questions you can ask so you’ll have a better idea of how to formulate your interview questions in the future.

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), these questions are off limits:

Race, Color, or National Origin

Religion

Sex, Gender Identity, or Sexual Orientation

Pregnancy status

Disability

Age or Genetic Information

Citizenship

Marital Status or Number of Children

That said, these questions should never be asked:

How many kids do you plan to have?

Do you have a problem working with Christians/Muslims/Atheists/Pastafarians?

Do you identify as male or female? Or something else?

I see you have a limp. Will it keep you from going up and down stairs?

How old are you?

How long have you lived in this country? Are you legal to work here?

Are you married? Are you happy in your relationship?

Do you plan on getting pregnant in the near future?

What are you, Italian? Mexican? Black mixed with…?

You get the idea. If the question is even remotely associated with the list above, don’t ask it.
This next group can vary by state, but we think you should steer clear of asking them regardless. They can lead down the rabbit hole directly to the questions you absolutely cannot ask:

Education Information

Arrests and Criminal Convictions

Credit History and Garnishment

Citizenship Questions

Smoking or Drug Use

And the questions you might be tempted to ask but shouldn’t:

Do you smoke or use tobacco products?

Where did you go to school? Did you graduate?

Have you ever been to jail? Ever been arrested? What for?

How’s your credit? Do you pay your bills on time?

If you had potential employees fill out a job application, a lot of these questions would have been addressed on that form. As a matter of fact, potential employees sign an application and agree to let you do a background or credit check. If you just have to know the answers to those questions, then put them on the application and run the checks.

If you’re averse to hiring smokers, you can mention that you are a tobacco-free office and do not allow smoking on the premises. Same as the drug use issue. State you do not allow drug use on the job or at the office and leave it at that.

Now that you know what you can and can’t ask, your interviews should go smoother. And if you’ve ever asked any of these questions and got a strange look before a response, you know why. So, be honest: have you ever asked any of these no-no questions during an interview? Did the interviewee respond?

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Back in March 2010 there was a post similar. At that time I posted a pre-employment test I made for entry level employes entering the trade. To
many on here this seems simple. But it does weed out or make you aware of problems ahead of time. With all the new people on here in the past couple of years I thought maybe a recap would be in order.

For things like "are you legally able to work here", you're allowed to find that out within 3 days of hiring the person by law; at every company I've started at I've been required to submit a passport for this form within 3 days of starting: https://www.jobs.irs.gov/sites/defau...rification.pdf

{5} Have you ever been adjudged insane, mentally deficient or having a mental disorder by a court?...Ö.

We had a brand new apprentice once and he had only one arm. He was a good kid unfortunately and obviously with only one arm he dropped out of the trade. I wonder why he went through 1600 hours of plumbing school.

I always found the best way to weed out most of the losers
was to make the application time to do the interview and fill out the info was only between 7.45 and 8.30 in the morning........ because we would be gone on the road to a job by 8.45..

if they cant make it to the office to fill out the info at 8am then they probably wont be able to show up any other day on time either........

I always found the best way to weed out most of the losers
was to make the application time to do the interview and fill out the info was only between 7.45 and 8.30 in the morning........ because we would be gone on the road to a job by 8.45..

if they cant make it to the office to fill out the info at 8am then they probably wont be able to show up any other day on time either........

What about the guys who have a good work ethic, are working for someone else, but decide it is time to move on? They don't like to call out sick unless they are truly sick, so how do you get them there at 8AM when they are scheduled to work with their current employer? Believe it or not, some guys don't like to burn bridges, even for employers who don't deserve it. You are weeding out the losers, but also the conscientious guys.
When I was on a job search, I would never take an interview with a company which insisted that I meet them during business hours, which were generally the same as where I was working. My current boss is one of the best I ever had, and when I told him that I could only interview after hours or on the weekend, he completely understood. He gets it.
This article is mostly good, but I don't know where they get the idea that you can't ask about smoking. In most places smokers are not a protected class. You can discriminate against them all day long, and it is perfectly legal. And employers are required now to be sure that they hire only people who are legally allowed to work in this country, so where does that bit of advice come from?
As far as weeding out most of the losers, good luck with that. They are like idiots, just when you think you've made something idiot proof, they go ahead and develop a better idiot. Hiring people is like the girl kissing frogs..... you have to go through a lot of them before you find one that turns into a prince.

What about the guys who have a good work ethic, are working for someone else, but decide it is time to move on? They don't like to call out sick unless they are truly sick, so how do you get them there at 8AM when they are scheduled to work with their current employer?

My interview was on a saturday morning. That said if an employer says the interview has to be at 8am then you could take the day off, come in late(with permission), or explain the situation to the new employer. If they really want a good employee they will understand.